Thug who kicked a 64-year-old man in the head avoids jail

A cafe chef who kicked a 64-year-old man in his head as he lay on a pavement has narrowly avoided an immediate jail term.

Liam Duboulay-Jones, of Avondale Drive, Lostock Hall, near Preston, was sentenced to 26 weeks suspended for two years by Judge Recorder Narayan after admitting causing actual bodily harm.

The 19-year-old defendant, who must pay his victim £250 in compensation, handed himself in after a CCTV appeal on Preston Police’s Facebook page, on which he had made comments and partial admissions.

A shocking picture issued by police shows the moment he attacked the man.

Preston Crown Court court heard the victim had been punched by someone else and had ended up on the ground outside a bar on the evening of November 26 last year.

Duboulay-Jones, a chef at Brucciani’s coffee shop on Fishergate, Preston, had been chatting to a friend at a cash machine, but was then seen kicking the man in the head as he tried to get up, knocking him unconscious.

Several members of public came to his aid.

In a previous hearing before magistrates, defence solicitor Steve Scott said the man had allegedly made a racist comment, but that Duboulay-Jones did not seek to justify his actions.

The court heard the victim did not wish to press charges. He had asked that a £100 fee from a caution from the man who initially punched him was donated to charity.